2019 SpeedyCash.com 400, Practice, First practice
Ben Rhodes was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 29.887 seconds and a speed of 180.681 mph (290.778 km/h).


2019 SpeedyCash.com 400, Practice, Second practice
Johnny Sauter was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 29.321 seconds and a speed of 184.168 mph (296.390 km/h).


2019 SpeedyCash.com 400, Practice, Final practice
Johnny Sauter was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 29.470 seconds and a speed of 183.237 mph (294.891 km/h).


2019 SpeedyCash.com 400, Qualifying
Todd Gilliland scored the pole for the race with a time of 29.227 seconds and a speed of 184.761 mph (297.344 km/h).


2019 SpeedyCash.com 400, Race, Summary
Todd Gilliland started on pole, but lost the lead to Grant Enfinger within 5 laps. Four of the five cautions during stage 1 occurred due to drivers spinning out in Turn 2 and wrecking their trucks. Johnny Sauter avoided the wrecks to win the stage. In stage 2, Sauter made contact with Austin Hill, causing Sauter's truck to back into the wall and accumulate damage.


2019 SpeedyCash.com 400, Race, Summary
Gilliland later got loose under Ben Rhodes, backing his truck into the fence. He earned his second DNF of the season, knocking him below the playoff cutline. This would also cause team owner Kyle Busch to deliver critical comments about the performances of the team's full-time drivers, none of which had won a race thus far.


2019 SpeedyCash.com 400, Race, Summary
In the final restart with less than 10 laps remaining, Greg Biffle stayed out during pit stops. He was able to conserve fuel and hold off Matt Crafton, winning his first truck race in over 10 years.


2019 Spelthorne Borough Council election
The 2019 Spelthorne Borough Council election took place on 2 May 2019 to elect all members of Spelthorne Borough Council in England. The Conservatives retained control of the council, but with a reduced majority of 7, down from 31.


2019 Spelthorne Borough Council election, By-elections, Staines South
The resignation of independent councillor Nichola Cornes (elected as a Liberal Democrat) on 25 January 2021 led to the Staines South by-election, held 6 May 2021, to coincide with the Surrey County Council elections 2021.


2019 Spelthorne Borough Council election, By-elections, Staines
The resignation of Green Party councillor Jan Doerfel on 7 June 2021 led to the Staines South by-election, held 22 July 2021.


2019 Spengler Cup
The 93rd Spengler Cup was held from 26 to 31 December 2019 at the Vaillant Arena, Davos.


2019 Spielberg Formula 2 round
The 2019 Spielberg Formula 2 round was a pair of motor races for Formula 2 cars that took place on 29 and 30 June 2019 at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, in Austria as part of the FIA Formula 2 Championship. It was the sixth round of the 2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship and ran in support of the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix.


2019 Spielberg Formula 2 round, Background, Driver changes
Mahaveer Raghunathan received a one-race ban after reaching twelve penalty points on his racing license during the Paul Ricard feature race. His seat at MP Motorsport for the round was taken by Patricio O'Ward.


2019 Spielberg Formula 2 round, Background, Driver changes
Elsewhere, Dorian Boccolacci was replaced at Campos Racing by Arjun Maini, and Ralph Boschung left Trident with Ryan Tveter taking his place for the round.


2019 Spielberg Formula 3 round
The 2019 Spielberg FIA Formula 3 round was a motor racing event held on 29 and 30 June 2019 at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. It is the third round of the 2019 FIA Formula 3 Championship, and ran in support of the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix.


2019 Spielberg Formula 3 round, Summary, Background
Following the opening round, Russian driver Robert Shwartzman leads the championship by twelve points over team-mate Jehan Daruvala, with Prema's third driver Marcus Armstrong sitting a further thirteen points behind the Indian.


2019 Spielberg Formula 3 round, Summary, Background
Jenzer Motorsport would enter Italian F4 Championship driver Giorgio Carrara in their third car after it was left unoccupied in France following the departure of Artem Petrov.


2019 Spikers' Turf, Reinforced conference
The 2019 Spikers’ Turf Reinforced Conference is the thirteenth conference of the Spikers' Turf. The tournament began on May 19, 2019 at the Paco Arena. The Philippine men’s volleyball team is set to compete in this conference as preparations for the 2019 SEA Games.


2019 Spikers' Turf, Open conference
The 2019 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference is the fourteenth conference of the Spikers' Turf. The tournament began on August 20, 2019 with a total of 24 teams. San Beda replaced PNP, which was forced to withdraw from the competition after failing to secure permission from their superior officers.


2019 Spikers' Turf, Open conference
A total of four pools with six squads each pool that will compete in a single-round robin elimination round.


2019 Spikers' Turf, Open conference, Preliminary round
Qualified to the quarter finals  Qualified to quarter finals playoff


2019 Spikers' Turf Open Conference
The 2019 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference was the fourteenth conference of the Spikers' Turf. The tournament began on August 20, 2019 with a total of 24 teams. San Beda replaced PNP, which was forced to withdraw from the competition after failing to secure permission from their superior officers.


2019 Spikers' Turf Open Conference
A total of four pools with six squads each pool that will compete in a single-round robin elimination round.


2019 Spikers' Turf Open Conference, Preliminary round
Qualified to the quarter finals  Qualified to quarter finals playoff


2019 Spikers' Turf Reinforced Conference
The 2019 Spikers’ Turf Reinforced Conference is the thirteenth conference of the Spikers' Turf. The tournament began on May 19, 2019 at the Paco Arena. The Philippine men’s volleyball team is set to compete in this conference as preparations for the 2019 SEA Games.


2019 Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200
The 2019 Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 is a NASCAR Xfinity Series race held on August 31, 2019, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Contested over 147 laps on the 1.366-mile (2.198 km) egg-shaped oval, it was the 24th race of the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.


2019 Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200, Background, Track
Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that is effective at both ends.


2019 Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200, Entry list
The entry list included semi-retired driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., who decided to participate in the race despite being in a plane accident in mid-August 2019.


2019 Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200, Practice, First practice
Cole Custer was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 29.340 seconds and a speed of 167.607 mph (269.737 km/h).


2019 Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200, Practice, Final practice
Noah Gragson was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 29.575 seconds and a speed of 166.276 mph (267.595 km/h).


2019 Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200, Qualifying
Ryan Blaney scored the pole for the race with a time of 28.696 seconds and a speed of 171.369 mph (275.792 km/h).


2019 Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200, Race, Summary
Ryan Blaney started on pole and led early, holding off Tyler Reddick. After John Hunter Nemechek spun and caused a caution, Blaney pitted and gave the lead to Reddick, who won Stage 1. After Brandon Brown spun and hit the inside wall, Blaney and Justin Allgaier caught up to Reddick, with Blaney taking the Stage 2 victory. Allgaier and Cole Custer battled Reddick for top positions, while Denny Hamlin (who started at the rear of the field) caught up to the top 5.


2019 Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200, Race, Summary
Blaney left pit road with Custer and Hamlin behind him. Hamlin got by Custer and then slid past Blaney for the lead with 27 remaining. The final caution occurred with around 15 laps remaining, stacking up the field. Hamlin stayed in the lead while Custer took the second position. The restart happened with 10 laps to go. Hamlin took off and retained the lead, while Custer chased him closely.


2019 Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200, Race, Summary
On the final lap, Custer got right up to Hamlin's back and dove into turn 3. Custer was unable to make it stick, causing Hamlin to cross the finish line in first place and take the apparent victory. Although Hamlin was later disqualified, which gave Custer the race win despite him not leading a single lap.


2019 Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200, After the race
Denny Hamlin was disqualified and stripped of his race win when his car failed a pair of height requirements, being deemed too low in the left front and too high in the right rear, ultimately giving the race win to runner-up Cole Custer. This was the first disqualification of an Xfinity Series race winner and the fourth overall disqualification in the Xfinity Series this season since the 2019 rules were established.


2019 Sport Club Corinthians Paulista season
The 2019 season was the 110th season in the history of Sport Club Corinthians Paulista.


2019 Sport Club Corinthians Paulista season, Background, Sponsorship
On January 17, Corinthians announced Banco BMG as their new main sponsor.


2019 Sport Club Corinthians Paulista season, Background, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2019 Sport Club Corinthians Paulista season, Background, Managerial changes
On December 3, one day after the 2018 season ended, it was announced that Jair Ventura was fired from the club. Four days later Fábio Carille was announced as the new manager, just seven months after he left to train Saudi club Al-Wehda.


2019 Sport Club Corinthians Paulista season, Background, Managerial changes
On November 3, 2019, Carille was fired after a loss to Flamengo. The club announced the following day that Dyego Coelho, former player and current U20 manager, would take over as interim until the end of the season.


2019 Sport Club Corinthians Paulista season, Background, Managerial changes
On November 7, it was announced that Athletico Paranaense's manager Tiago Nunes will be the head coach for the next season.


2019 Sport Club Corinthians Paulista season, Campeonato Paulista
For the 2019 Campeonato Paulista, the 16 teams are divided in four groups of 4 teams (A, B, C, D). They will face all teams, except those that are in their own group, with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the quarterfinals. The two overall worst teams will be relegated.


2019 Sporting Kansas City season
The 2019 Sporting Kansas City season is the twenty-fourth season of the team's existence in Major League Soccer and the ninth year played under the Sporting Kansas City moniker.


2019 Sporting Kansas City season
It was the first season since 2010 where Sporting did not qualify for the playoffs.


2019 Sporting Kansas City season, Summary, Preseason
Sporting Kansas City opened its preseason camp in Scottsdale, Arizona, in early January to prepare for the CONCACAF Champions League. Players slept in specialized tents on their beds that would simulate higher-elevation air pressure in order to adjust their bodies for a high-elevation match in Toluca, Mexico.


2019 Sporting Kansas City season, Current roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Squad correct as of August 16, 2019.


2019 Sporting Kansas City season, Player movement, In
Per Major League Soccer and club policies terms of the deals do not get disclosed.


2019 Sporting Kansas City season, Player movement, In, Draft picks
Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. Only trades involving draft picks and executed after the start of 2019 MLS SuperDraft will be listed in the notes.


2019 Sporting Kansas City season, Player movement, Short Term Agreements
Per Major League Soccer and club policies terms of the deals do not get disclosed.


2019 Sporting Kansas City season, Player movement, Loans
Per Major League Soccer and club policies terms of the deals do not get disclosed.


2019 Sporting Kansas City season, Player statistics, Injury record
- Player is injured  - Player has recovered from injuryLast updated: 22 August 2019Source:


2019 Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio
The 2019 Acura Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The race was held at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, and was the fourth round of the 2019 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.


2019 Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio, Background
This event marks the inaugural event of a new support championship for the GT Daytona (GTD) class called the WeatherTech Sprint Cup. It is a championship of all the non-endurance events in the GTD calendar, using the same scoring system as the overall full-time championship, unlike its sister support championship, the Michelin Endurance Cup.


2019 Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio, Background
Two and a half weeks prior to the event, Ford announced they would end their factory program with Chip Ganassi Racing in the GTLM class in both the World Endurance Championship and the WeatherTech championship at the end of 2019.


2019 Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio, Background
On April 24th, 2019, IMSA released a technical bulletin regarding the Balance of Performance for the race. There were no changes made to either the DPi or GT Le Mans classes. In GTD, the Lamborghini Huracán GT3, which had been victorious in the previous two rounds at Daytona and Sebring, received a 30 kilogram weight increase and a 1-liter reduction in fuel capacity. In contrast, the Audi R8 LMS and Mercedes-AMG GT3 cars were given weight reductions of 25 and 20 kilograms, respectively. The McLaren 720S GT3 received its baseline weight of 1320 kilograms and RPM of 8,000 for its first IMSA event.


2019 Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio, Background, Entries
On April 24th, 2019, the entry list for the event was released, featuring a total of 36 cars. There are scheduled to be 11 cars in the leading Daytona Prototype international (DPi) class, two in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class, eight entries in GT Le Mans (GTLM), and 15 entries in the GTD class.


2019 Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio, Background, Entries
There were some considerable additions and changes among the field. Lone Star Racing returned to IMSA competition in the GTD class, having previously participated at Laguna Seca in 2017. Starworks Motorsport driver Parker Chase, who had previously only been on contract for the endurance events, would sign an agreement to run the full season with Starworks in 2019, alongside the existing full-season driver Ryan Dalziel. The biggest addition to the entry list, however, was Compass Racing, who would field a new McLaren 720S GT3 with factory backing in the full Sprint Cup-only campaign for the season. Their drivers were McLaren factory driver Paul Holton and Matt Plumb. On April 19th, 2019, McLaren Automotive signed a multi-year agreement with IMSA in which they officially became an automotive partner of the International Motor Sports Association.


2019 Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio, Background, Entries
After initially confirming full-season programs, GTD teams Precision Performance Motorsports and P1 Motorsports would not return for Mid-Ohio, with the latter pulling the plug on using their Mercedes-AMG GT3 cars in championships.


2019 Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio, Background, Entries
Due to scheduling conflicts for full-season drivers Gabriel Aubry, Patrick Lindsey and Harry Tincknell, who were at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps for the FIA World Endurance Championship, drivers Eric Lux, Marco Seefried and Ryan Hunter-Reay respectively would replace these drivers for the Mid-Ohio event.


2019 Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio, Practice and qualifying, Qualifying Results
Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by .


2019 Spring UPSL season
The 2019 Spring United Premier Soccer League season is the 12th season of the UPSL.


2019 Spring UPSL season, Pro Premier, Team changes
These tables show changes made since the 2018 Spring season for the Atlanta Caribbean Division, Midwest Conference, Northeast Conference, and Southwest Conference which did not participate in the 2018 Fall season. All other changes are compared to the Fall season.


2019 Spring UPSL season, Pro Premier, Competition format
Teams are divided into conferences, some of which are further subdivided into divisions. Following the regular season, teams compete in a playoff tournament to determine a single national champion. Unless specified otherwise, all playoff matches are contested over a single leg, hosted by the team with the best points-per-game ratio. Extra time is not used in any round; matches drawn after 90 minutes advance directly to a penalty shootout.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings
On 21 April 2019, Easter Sunday, three churches in Sri Lanka and three luxury hotels in the commercial capital, Colombo, were targeted in a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide bombings. Later that day, there were smaller explosions at a housing complex in Dematagoda and a guest house in Dehiwala. A total of 267 people were killed, including at least 45 foreign nationals, three police officers, and eight bombers, and at least 500 were injured. The church bombings were carried out during Easter services in Negombo, Batticaloa and Colombo; the hotels that were bombed were the Shangri-La, Cinnamon Grand, Kingsbury and Tropical Inn. According to the State Intelligence Service, a second wave of attacks was planned, but was stopped as a result of government raids.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings
According to Sri Lankan government officials, all eight of the suicide bombers in the attacks were Sri Lankan citizens associated with National Thowheeth Jama'ath, a local militant Islamist group with suspected foreign ties, previously known for attacks against Buddhists and Sufis. State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardene said in parliament on 23 April that the government believed the attack was in retaliation for the Christchurch mosque shootings on 15 March 2019. The direct linkage between the two attacks was questioned by New Zealand's government and by some experts. The NTJ had been stockpiling explosives at least since January 2019.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings
On 23 April 2019, Amaq News Agency, a propaganda outlet for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), stated that ″the perpetrators of the attack targeting the citizens of coalition countries and Christians in Sri Lanka were Islamic State fighters″. Sri Lanka was not part of the anti-ISIL coalition, and the overwhelming majority of those killed were Sri Lankan citizens. A man believed to be long-silent ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi praised the attackers during an 18-minute video on a range of topics. The Criminal Investigation Department, however, has stated that there is no evidence of ISIL's direct involvement.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Background
Historically, terrorism in Sri Lanka mostly involved coordinated attacks by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) against the government and army during the Sri Lankan Civil War, which began in 1983. The LTTE was defeated in 2009 in its effort to violently seize control of the northern and eastern coasts of the island from the Sinhalese ethnic majority to create an independent Tamil state. The Marxist-Leninist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) also held uprisings in 1971 and 1987–89.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Background
The main religions in Sri Lanka are Buddhism (70.3%), Hinduism (12.6%), Islam (9.7%) and Christianity (6.1%), with 82% of the Christians being Roman Catholics. The remaining Christians are evenly split between the Anglican Church of Ceylon and other Protestant denominations.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Background
During the 2010s, a low but persisting number of attacks and threats were made against Christian congregations and individuals, as well as other religious minorities, by local monks, although they may or may not be actual members of the Buddhist clergy. Anglican Bishop of Colombo, Dhiloraj Canagasabey called for constitutional rights on religion to be protected. In 2018, the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL) reported a large increase in the number of attacks against Christians in the country that year. This coincided with a Supreme Court ruling against a Catholic organisation in August, which deemed that proselytism was not protected by the constitution (though individual freedom of religion remained protected).


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Background
Easter Sunday is Christianity's holiest day and church attendance in Sri Lanka is very high on this day. This was the first time since 2009, the end of the Sri Lankan Civil War, that the country had experienced a major terrorist attack.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Background, Islamic radicalisation
The Sri Lankan government was aware of some foreigners arriving in Sri Lanka to spread what justice minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe called Islamic extremism. In November 2016 he told parliament that 32 Sri Lankan Muslims from "well-educated and elite" families joined the ISIL. On 25 April 2019, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe revealed that the government had known of the Sri Lankan nationals who had joined Islamic State and returned to the country – but they couldn't be arrested, because joining a foreign terrorist organisation is not against the law.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Background, Islamic radicalisation
In the aftermath of the bombings investigations revealed that school textbooks for Islam published by the government also encouraged radicalisation of Muslims. The school books since the 1980s called for the death sentence for those who leave Islam.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Background, Prior to the attacks
Vice president of the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka Hilmy Ahamed had said about three years ago he warned military intelligence officials about the National Thowheeth Jama'ath, saying "targeting the non-Muslim community is something they encourage – they say you have to kill them in the name of religion".


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Background, Prior to the attacks
Indian intelligence agencies provided specific information to Sri Lankan authorities about the method and target locations for the potential terrorist attacks to Sri Lankan authorities as early as 4 April, and again on the night before, and as close as two hours, before the first attack. This included information about the threat to churches, gathered from interrogation of a suspected ISIL recruit in Indian custody.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Background, Prior to the attacks
The New York Times and AFP reported on a police chief warning security officials in an advisory ten days before the attacks of a threat to prominent churches from a radical Islamist group, National Thowheeth Jama'ath. No information in this regard had been passed to the senior politicians of the country; Minister Harin Fernando then tweeted images of an internal memo and report by the police intelligence of a terror attack planned by the founder of National Thowheeth Jama’ath, Mohammed Zahran.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Background, Prior to the attacks
Investigators have said that Rilwan Hashim, brother of Zahran, had built the explosives alongside Mohammad Hasthoon. Zahran had claimed to have been appointed member of the Sri Lankan branch of Islamic State by one of its officials and to be receiving orders directly from Syria, a claim investigators believe to have been fabricated. Zahran held a meeting in early April 2019 with over a dozen people in Panadura, where they decided upon the attack. Some participants however wanted to target the Buddhist festivals


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Background, Prior to the attacks
The cohorts of Hashim had stayed in contact through Whatsapp and Telegram. The planning for a future attack may have begun in mid-2018, though the group hadn't selected any target. Investigators believe that the Easter attack plan came into being much later, with roles of perpetrators being decided upon only shortly before Easter. They had communicated through Threema a few weeks before the attack.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Background, Prior to the attacks
In January 2019 a stockpile of suspicious explosives were discovered near the Wilpattu National Park which contained 100 kilos of high explosives and 100 detonators. The police confirmed that this was from a "newly formed radical Muslim group". On 16 April a parked motorcycle in Kattankudy carrying explosives detonated without casualties during a lightning storm.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Attacks
Christians were attending Easter Sunday services when the bombings took place, targeting churches and hotels around Sri Lanka. The sequence and coordination of the bombings were planned to cause maximum destruction, targeting Christians during worship services across the island nation, and targeting guests during breakfast in beachfront hotels in the capital. All six of the first set of explosions targeting the churches and hotels were carried out by suicide bombers.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Attacks
The first blast took place in the Shrine of St. Anthony, a historic Catholic church in the capital, where more than 50 people were killed. The second blast took place in St. Sebastian's Church in the Christian-majority suburb of Negombo, to the north of Colombo and Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. Over 100 people were killed at St. Sebastian's Church. St. Sebastian's is also close to Sri Lanka's main airport, Bandaranaike International Airport, where security was heightened.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Attacks
On the other side of the island in Batticaloa, a bomb blast 15 minutes later killed 30 people at the Protestant evangelical Zion Church.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Attacks
Sri Lankan media reported at least 40 people killed in Colombo, between St. Anthony's and the hotels.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Attacks, Churches
The Catholic Shrine of St. Anthony in Kotahena, Colombo, was the first to be hit, followed by the Catholic Church of St. Sebastian in Negombo. Sri Lankan news media initially reported at least 93 people killed at St. Sebastian's. In October 2019, the BBC reported that a total of 115 people had died in the St. Sebastian's bombing, including 27 children.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Attacks, Churches
The Zion Church in Batticaloa, a Protestant congregation, was also bombed. Local news reported at least 30 killed in Batticaloa, with 9 of these reported by a police official to be tourists. A hospital official in the region said that more than 300 people had been admitted following the explosion. The BBC reported that the suicide bomber had attempted to enter the church under the guise of filming it, but was denied access because of the ongoing service. Instead, he detonated his bomb in the churchyard, killing many children from the attached Sunday school who were taking a break.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Attacks, Hotels
Three 5-star hotels on the beachfront in central Colombo were attacked around the same time as the churches: the Shangri-La Hotel, the Cinnamon Grand Colombo and The Kingsbury.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Attacks, Hotels
The Shangri-La bombers struck at 08:57 hours (UTC+05:30) during breakfast in the Table One Restaurant on the hotel's third floor, which was reportedly full of foreign tourists who made up the bulk of the hotel's clientele.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Attacks, Hotels
The suicide bomber who struck at the Taprobane restaurant in the Cinnamon Grand hotel had checked into the hotel with a false name the night before, claiming to be on a business trip. The bomber entered the queue of the packed restaurant's breakfast buffet the next morning and detonated explosives strapped to his back as he was about to be served. One of the hotel's managers who was welcoming guests was among those killed instantly.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Attacks, Hotels
The reception hall of a guest house, the Tropical Inn in Dehiwala, was also attacked later in the day, with two deaths reported. Later on during investigations, It was found that the bomber's original target had being the Taj Samudra Hotel in Colombo. CCTV footage given to the media by the hotel, shows the bomber attempting to detonate his vest three times in the dining area and upon failing, leaving the premises at 8.49 a.m.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Attacks, Hotels
The Kingsbury hotel management resumed their operations on 24 April 2019 followed by Cinnamon Grand few days later; Shangri-La partially reopened on 12 June 2019.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Attacks, Residence
A further bombing occurred later in the day when police executed a breach and clear at a suspect's house in the suburbs of Colombo; in Dematagoda killing three police officers and four others at the premises including the suicide bomber. The pregnant suicide bomber, whose three children were killed in the blast, was the wife of Ilham Ibrahim, the Shangri-La suicide bomber, and the sister-in-law of Inshaf Ahmed Ibrahim, the Cinnamon Grand suicide bomber.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Aftermath
The government closed facilities for security; the Defence Ministry issued a police curfew starting at 18:00 local time on the day of the attacks, and imposed a temporary social media ban, whilst the Minister of Education, Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, had all schools closed for the following two days. The Colombo Stock Exchange announced that its operations will be temporarily suspended following the terror attacks, not opening as planned on 22 April 2019.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Aftermath
An improvised explosive device was found near the Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo and was dismantled by the Sri Lankan Air Force.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Aftermath
On 22 April, the Special Task Force (STF), the elite counter-terrorism unit of the Sri Lanka Police, located a van belonging to the attackers near St. Anthony's Shrine, the site of one of the prior day's blasts. Upon inspection, the vehicle was found to have been rigged with 3 bombs. After the STF's bomb defusing unit evacuated the surrounding area, the bombs were detonated simultaneously during a defusing attempt. The same day, police reportedly found 87 items of bomb paraphernalia at the Bastian Mawatha Private Bus Station in Pettah.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Aftermath
On 25 April, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) released names and photos of six suspects wanted in connection over the Easter Sunday bombings, seeking public assistance. On 28 April, police confirmed two of the suspects, Mohomed Iwuhaim Saadiq Abdul Haq and Mohomed Iwuhaim Shahid Abdul Haq, who were arrested in Nawalapitiya and would be handed over to the CID.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Aftermath
Since the attacks, any garment covering the face including the burqa and niqab, have been banned in Sri Lanka.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Aftermath, Victims
The bombings killed 269 people and injured at least 500. Initially, 359 fatalities were reported; the Ministry of Health later reduced the number by 106 after cross-referencing DNA samples to body parts. The majority of the dead are Sri Lankans, with at least 45 foreigners among those killed.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Aftermath, Victims
At least 45 children, including nine who were foreigners, were killed. On 23 April, the first mass funeral was held at St. Sebastian's Church, Katuwapitiya.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Aftermath, Subsequent events
On 26 April, the Sri Lanka Army and the STF carried out a search operation in Sainthamaruthu where three explosions and a shootout occurred when they attempted to raid a suspected hideout following a tip-off. Three suicide bombers blew themselves up, killing nine of their family members, including three women and six children, while three other terrorists were shot dead by the soldiers. One civilian was caught in the crossfire and died, according to police, while a wounded woman and child were taken to hospital.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Aftermath, Subsequent events
Another search operation in Sammanthurai based on information received by the State Intelligence Service led to a house where a stock of more than 150 gelignite sticks, IS uniforms and flags, 100,000 metal balls, a drone, a van and a laptop were discovered. An indefinite curfew was imposed in the police areas of Kalmunai, Chawalakade and Sammanthurai.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Aftermath, Subsequent events
As a result of the raids and arrests a second wave of planned attacks targeting several churches, opposing mosques and the Temple of the Tooth were averted


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Aftermath, Subsequent events
On the same day, a suspect was arrested and more than 40 swords, kris knives and several uniforms similar to those worn by the army were recovered from a mosque at Palliyaweediya on Slave Island.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Aftermath, Subsequent events
On 27 April, while conducting house to house raids in the Kalmunai area, evidence recovered linked three suspects to the murders of two police officers, Dinesh Alagaratnam and Niroshan Indika, on 29 November 2018 in Vavunathivu. All three suspects were arrested and The Daily Mirror reported that sources confirmed they were part of a "radical Islamist" group.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Aftermath, Subsequent events
On the same day, the driver of the main suspect involved in the attacks, Mohamed Sahran, was arrested in Kattankudy. The Negombo Deputy Mayor, Mohomad Anzar, was taken into custody with a sword, a knife and 38 mobile phone batteries.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Precautionary measures, State of emergency
Following President Sirisena's return to the island from Singapore on 22 April 2019, where he was on a personal visit, the Sri Lankan government declared a state of emergency from midnight of 22 April by an extraordinary gazette notification issued by the President under the Public Security Ordinance. This would give the government, police and the armed forces sweeping powers to undertake counter-terrorism activities. The government also announced that it would hold a national day of mourning the following day. On 24 April, the Sri Lankan Parliament passed emergency regulations without a vote after a day-long debate. Emergency regulations give the police and armed forces powers to search, arrest and detain persons up to 24 hours without a warrant.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Precautionary measures, State of emergency
On 25 August 2019, the government lifted the state of emergency, following the normalising of the security situation.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Precautionary measures, Curfews
After incidents occurred yesterday in the North-Western Province, starting from Chilaw and spreading to Kuliyapitiya, Hettipola and other areas, we had to impose curfew last evening. There were incidents of youth involved in damaging and destroying property. So, I as Army Commander request and at the same time warn anyone who has planned to destroy or dishonour the orders given by the government or the Armed Forces, that we will take stern action. I say again we will take stern action to apprehend, arrest and even open fire and use minimum or maximum powers given under emergency laws.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Precautionary measures, Curfews
We will ensure that the country will not return to violence, including the violence of radicalization and terrorists. Please ensure that you do not get involved in such illegal incidents or any such activities. The Armed Forces will not hesitate to use our powers to curb, curtail and contain the situation. The Armed Forces are strong enough to ensure there won’t be an escalation of violence in any part of the island. We have deployed the Army, Navy and Air Force to assist the Police to maintain law and order. I humbly request the youth not to get involved in violence and get entangled with the Armed Forces where we are ready to use our powers.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Precautionary measures, Curfews
Since 21 April evening, the government has imposed nightly police curfews effective island-wide, with the hours reduced to 2200 to 0400 hours until 27 April. Indefinite curfews were imposed in several police divisions where incidents such as the Sainthamaruthu shootout took place.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Precautionary measures, Curfews
On 12 May, a group of people congregated in the town of Chilaw allegedly following a Facebook post which claimed there was a plan to attack the town. An immediate police curfew was imposed and the situation was brought under control without further damage. Two people were later arrested over the incident.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Precautionary measures, Curfews
On 13 May, sporadic isolated incidents where groups of people vandalised property in the North Western Province caused police to impose curfew across the entire country. Acting Police Chief C.D. Wickramaratne promised an overwhelming police response against any individuals breaking the law by instigating sporadic countrywide riots targeting Muslim-owned property and businesses.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Precautionary measures, Curfews
In a hard-hitting statement, Army Commander Mahesh Senanayake stated that the security forces had been given broad-ranging powers under emergency laws, and would respond proportionately to the threat, but that they would not hesitate to utilise the full extent of their powers to ensure that the rule of law is maintained.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Precautionary measures, Curfews
On 14 May, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe stated that all necessary powers to restore peace and stability to the country had been given to security forces and police. He further stated that creating unnecessary disturbances would hinder the ongoing investigations to apprehend terrorists.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Precautionary measures, Curfews
We will not let any elements or any cowardly acts of a few extremists drag the country to anarchy over the unfortunate events on Easter Sunday. We are receiving information on those responsible for such activities, and will take full action against them.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Precautionary measures, Ban on social media
The government temporarily blocked major social media networks and messaging services Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Viber, Snapchat and YouTube within hours of the attack. The blocking included VPN service providers that could be used to circumvent the blocks.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Precautionary measures, Ban on social media
Some commentators condoned the move and viewed it as evidence that social media sites had failed to stop misinformation. Others criticised the block for cutting off Sri Lankans from means of communicating with relatives during a disaster and saw it as counterproductive in reducing fake news.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Precautionary measures, Ban on social media
On 30 April, President Sirisena ordered the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) to lift the social media ban. On 13 May the government blocked social media for the third time following the anti-Muslim riots.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Precautionary measures, Ban on burqa
On 24 April 2019, a Sri Lankan MP Ashu Marasinghe called for both burqa and niqab to be banned from the country and proposed that a bill be passed in the Parliament during a local parliamentary session in wake of the attacks.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Precautionary measures, Ban on burqa
On 28 April 2019, President Sirisena banned any type of face covering that prevents or hinders facial identification, including the burqa or niqāb under an emergency law that will go into force on 29 April 2019. This law does not prevent a Muslim woman from wearing a hijab or chador. Breaching any emergency law is punishable by a maximum penalty of death, a recently reinstated penalty that has not been used for more than four decades.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Precautionary measures, Ban on burqa
In a press release, the President stated the decision was taken to "further support the ongoing security and help the armed forces to easily identify the identity of any wanted perpetrators". The All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulema also told all Muslim women not to wear face veils in public for security reasons.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Precautionary measures, Surveillance
On 10 May 2019, it was mandated that copies of all sermons given inside mosques be submitted to the Ministry of Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs, as part of a broader strategic plan to monitor activities inside mosques. The Ministry said mosques must not be used for radicalising congregations.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Precautionary measures, Centralised and Integrated Population Information System
On 8 May 2019, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe announced plans for a centralised platform for the collection, monitoring and storage of intelligence. The system known as the Centralised and Integrated Population Information System will collect biometric data from iris scanning and facial identification at all ports of entry and exit. The Ministry of Internal Affairs, Provincial Councils and local governments were instructed to prepare an action plan for this system in two weeks, to obtain Cabinet approval.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Investigations, Indian Intelligence Report: Security lapse Inquiry
Sri Lanka's Minister of Telecommunication Harin Fernando had tweeted that Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara sent an alert by his Deputy Inspector General Priyalal Dissanayake dated 11 April 2019 relaying an Indian intelligence report from 4 April that suicide bombers affiliated with NTJ planned to attack prominent churches and the Indian embassy in Colombo. The Indian intelligence service reissued the warnings two days and then again two hours before the attacks. Following the attacks, it disclosed that some of the information about the attacks was gleaned from an ISIL suspect arrested in Delhi, who revealed the name of a man, Zahran Hashim, the founder of the NTJ.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Investigations, Indian Intelligence Report: Security lapse Inquiry
After initial government denials of the alert's authenticity, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe stated that "information was there," about the attacks, and that his government must "look into why adequate precautions were not taken." The Sri Lankan government has acknowledged and apologized for failing to act on warnings received from Indian intelligence before the bombings. The State Defence Minister had earlier requested that the media not publish the names of the attackers, and said the government believes the attacks were carried out by a single group of religious extremists.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Investigations, Indian Intelligence Report: Security lapse Inquiry
It was later claimed that the Police Terrorism Investigations Division (TID) has been investigating the activities of the chief suspect Zahran, with an arrest warrant issued by the Colombo Magistrate's Court in August 2018 based on a 'B' report dated 2 July 2018 which the TID had submitted. However, the investigation had stopped after the arrest of the head of the TID, DIG Nalaka de Silva in September 2018, on allegations of attempting to assassinate President Sirisena, which ignited the 2018 constitutional crisis.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Investigations, Indian Intelligence Report: Security lapse Inquiry
This security lapse forms part of a current Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Easter Sunday bombings. The commission submitted an interim report two weeks after the attack and extension of its term until 31 May to complete the final report.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Investigations, Indian Intelligence Report: Security lapse Inquiry
Based on the interim report of the presidential commission, the Attorney General Dappula de Livera instructed the Criminal Investigation Department to carry out a criminal investigation against former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and IGP Pujith Jayasundera to determine if they failed to act on intelligence warnings about the attack. The final report was presented to President Sirisena by the commission on 10 June 2019.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Investigations, Indian Intelligence Report: Security lapse Inquiry
In May, a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) was appointed to probe the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks and incidents in its aftermath by the Speaker of the Parliament. The Select committee is headed by the Deputy Speaker Ananda Kumarasiri and includes seven MPs. The SLFP and the UPFA decided not to participate in the Select committee.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Investigations, Indian Intelligence Report: Security lapse Inquiry
On 7 June 2019, President Sirisena called an emergency Cabinet meeting and protest the PSC probe. He ordered that the PSC be terminated. He was critical of the PSC for summering intelligence and police officers. He had ordered no public officer to appear for summons issued by the PSC. Following Chief of National Intelligence Sisira Mendis's statement at the PSC to the effect that President Sirisena knew about the warnings of an impending attack, Sirisena sacked Mendis within hours.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Investigations, Bombing investigation
The Sri Lankan Police launched an investigation into the incident; it has now transpired into a major transnational investigation led by the Criminal Investigation Department of the Sri Lankan Police to hunt down all the perpetrators involved in this incident. Six foreign police agencies, including Scotland Yard, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Interpol are assisting the Sri Lankan Police.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Investigations, Bombing investigation
The bomber at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel was a guest who registered under the name of "Mohamed Azzam Mohamed" and gave a false address. The Shangri-La Hotel bomber was identified by police as Insan Seelavan, a factory owner, nine of whose employees have been arrested.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Investigations, Bombing investigation
On 23 April 2019, three Sri Lankan government and military sources told Reuters that a Syrian national had been held in custody for questioning over the attacks.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Investigations, Bombing investigation
Later on 23 April, the Sri Lankan State Defence Minister, Ruwan Wijewardene, said that initial investigations have revealed that Islamic extremists "carried out the attacks in retaliation for a March attack on two mosques in New Zealand". This has been questioned by New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and by analysts, as the attacks were likely planned before the Christchurch attacks. New Zealand security expert Paul Buchanan said that "Christchurch seems to be a convenient justification for something that was being planned before 15 March". Shortly afterward, Amaq News Agency claimed ISIL inspired the attacks. It released a photo and a video showing eight suicide bombers pledging allegiance to ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Zahran Hashim of the NTJ was identified as their leader. Amaq's statements emphasised the attacks were against Christians who are war with the organisation. None of them referenced Christchurch.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Investigations, Bombing investigation
Investigators believe the bombs were made of acetone peroxide, and are looking into training camps that had been hidden on a remote compound near Wanathavilluwa, on the west coast of the country, and possible links to overseas jihadist networks.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Investigations, Bombing investigation
According to the investigators, the perpetrators were offered military training by a person named Army Mohideen, while weapons training was provided overseas as well as in Nuwara Eliya and Wanathawilluwa in the Eastern Province. The vehicles used in the attack are believed to have been procured from a car sales centre in Kadawata.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Government response, Investigations, Bombing investigation
The National Investigation Agency of India confirmed that on 28 April, four homes were raided in Kasaragod, and Palakkad, Kerala as part of the transnational investigation unfolding into the Easter Sunday bombings.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Perpetrators, Arrests
Police arrested eight people living in the Colombo suburb of Dematagoda on the day of the attacks. Five more suspected attackers and accomplices were arrested at a house during the night. Police confirmed on the day after the bombings that 24 people were arrested. By 23 April, the number of people arrested was 40. Three police officers and two civilians were killed by bombs that exploded during the capturing. By 24 April 60 people had been arrested with possible links to the attacks, with 32 in custody.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Perpetrators, Arrests
On 26 April, the Sri Lankan Police had more than 70 suspects held on charges of suspicion of terrorism, aiding and abetting terrorism, and conspiracy to commit terrorism. Four high-level suspects are being held by the Terrorism Investigation Department, and 33 are being held by the Criminal Investigation Department. Most of them are friends and family of the suspected suicide bombers. Nine suicide bombers were involved in the attacks, and police have identified all of them.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Perpetrators, Arrests
A suspected mastermind named Hayathu Mohamed Ahmed Milhan and four others were deported to Sri Lanka from the Middle East. Milhan was expected to become the new leader of NTJ.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Perpetrators, Arrests
On 29 March 2020, the main suspect who was also the mastermind behind the Easter bombing in the Zion Church was arrested by police in Mount Lavinia during the curfew which was imposed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic in the country. The suspect was identified as a 40 year old resident of Dehiwala/Mount Lavinia and was accused of transporting the suicide bomber to the Zion Church in Batticaloa. The suspect is also accused of handling the suicide bomber who attacked the Kochikade St. Anthony Church.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Perpetrators, Arrests, Bail controversy
Nine people arrested on 22 April 2019 and formally charged with supplying equipment used in connection with an act of terrorism appeared in Colombo Magistrates Court on 6 May 2019. They were released on bail of two sureties of LKR500,000 each (approx. $3,000), as the court found the case against them was weak. The police launched an investigation to determine whether Wellampitiya police had erred. On 9 May 2019, investigators found Wellampitiya police officers had made several errors, neglecting to put several facts before the court. A police spokesman said stern action would be taken against the officers responsible.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Perpetrators, Arrests, Bail controversy
On 15 May, Wellampitiya Police officers hit back against the allegations of negligence and filed a complaint to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) alleging Colombo Magistrate Court Judge Priyantha Liyanage was being biased against the police by releasing nine of the ten suspects produced in court. A legal representative appearing on behalf of the suspects stated that the magistrate nor his client needs to wait for the police to complete its investigations for the magistrate to make a decision on the matter, the allegations made by the Wellampitiya Police officers do not have a proper basis in law.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Perpetrators, Arrests, Bail controversy
A police spokesman said an investigation had been launched into the incident, and that it appears that police may have erred by not filing the case under the Prevention of Terrorism Act because the investigations were yet to be completed. He further stated that as soon as the report from the investigation is released, police will take actions against any personnel held responsible. Human Rights Watch urged the Sri Lankan government to ensure that the detained people have access to lawyer.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Perpetrators, National Thowheeth Jama'ath
Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne confirmed that all of the bombers were Sri Lankan citizens associated with National Thowheeth Jama'ath (NTJ), a local militant radical Islamist group, but foreign links are suspected. There had been no claim of responsibility before 23 April. NTJ's leadership had been condemned by several Sri Lankan Muslim organisations in 2016 for advocating extreme fundamentalist indoctrination of children and for clashes with Buddhist monks, and was linked in 2018 to vandalism of Buddhist statues following anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka. NTJ's leader and "bombing mastermind" Zahran Hashim from Sri Lanka, preached on a pro-ISIL Sri Lankan Facebook account, known as "Al-Ghuraba" media, and on YouTube.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Perpetrators, Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim
During a press conference on 23 April 2019, State Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardene confirmed that a second splinter group was being investigated, but declined to provide details. On 27 April 2019, President Sirisena designated Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim (the splinter group) and National Thowheeth Jama'ath as terrorist organisations. This enables the freezing and seizure of assets belonging to these groups.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Perpetrators, Willayath As Seylani
Willayath As Seylani proscribed among NTJ and JMI under Emergency regulations of 75(1).


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Perpetrators, Identities of the bombers
Wijewardene announced that most of the suicide bombers were "well-educated and come from middle or upper-middle class", and that they were "financially quite independent". He stated one of the bombers studied in the United Kingdom before going to Australia to complete a postgraduate degree.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Perpetrators, Ties to Islamic State
The attackers are assessed to have links with Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, at least in the digital sphere.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Perpetrators, Ties to Islamic State
Hashim had featured in a video released by Amaq purporting to show eight of the suicide bombers. One of the bombers, Abdul Latheef, had tried to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State. It was reported that he was one of the subjects of a terrorism investigation by the Australian Joint Counter Terrorism Team in 2014 after intelligence emerged linking him to an IS operative Neil Prakash. The Times reported that security agencies believe that Hashim might have travelled to Syria where he was trained and develpoed links with British ISIL members like Jihadi John and Junaid Hussain.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Perpetrators, Ties to Islamic State
After the Sainthamaruthu shootout, Amaq claimed those killed in the raid were men of ISIL and published a photo which showed Rilwan who had blown himself. The other man in the image has been identified to be Zahran. Islamic State also released a video purportedly showing their leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi praising the attackers and claiming the attacks were revenge for the loss of Baghouz in Syria.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Perpetrators, Ties to Islamic State
Based on their early probe, the investigators have said that the attack was planned locally without any direct hand of the Islamic State. Zahran once made his cohorts listen to a recording of a purported ISIS official making him the head of the Sri Lankan branch. But they believe he lied greatly to others about the extent of his contacts with the group. General Mahesh Senanayake said the attackers utilised the ideology of the Islamic State so it could get the blame.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Perpetrators, Ties to Islamic State
Ravi Seneviratne, the DIG who leads the Criminal Investigation Department, testified in July that they had no evidence of the group having a direct involvement. Seneviratne added that the NTJ was inspired by its ideology, but its members had convinced the group through Indonesian intermediaries to take responsibility two days after the attacks.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Political
The Inspector General of Police, Pujith Jayasundara, came under heavy criticism following the bombings, with the United People's Freedom Alliance urging that he resign for failing to prevent the bombings. Later, former Presidential candidate Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka claimed it was unfair to blame the IGP and that it was a conflict between the functioning of military intelligence and criminal investigators, and called for better intelligence mechanisms and security clearances to be streamlined.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Political
In a speech delivered in parliament, former president and then-opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa slammed the government for weakening the intelligence services over the years. He stated that in January 2015, he handed over a secure and peaceful country with a strong national security apparatus. He claimed the present government is squarely responsible for the 2019 Easter bombings, stating that on an important occasion such as Easter, representatives of the government usually attend Mass; on this occasion, no representatives were present in or near churches.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Political
He blamed the government for diluting the powers of the national security apparatus and claimed this terrorist attack would never have occurred under his administration. Additionally, the government was preparing to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act; he questioned what kind of position the government would have been in to respond to the incident had they been successful in having the Act repealed.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Political
On 24 April 2019, President Sirisena promised major changes to the leadership of the security forces within the next 24 hours and pledged a "complete restructure" of the police and national security forces in the coming weeks. These changes come amidst allegations that a rift between the President and Prime Minister contributed to the failure to effectively respond to threats that undermine national security. The incident also caused a major setback for the government and for other political parties just before 2019 Sri Lankan presidential election


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Political
Cabinet Spokesman Rajitha Senaratne initially attempted to implicate Gotabaya Rajapaksa for the bombings, claiming that Abdul Razilk was a suicide bomber and the secretary of the NTJ that received funding from intelligence agencies during the Rajapaksa government. Razik however is the general secretary of the Ceylon Thowheed Jama’ath (CTJ), one of the splinter groups from Sri Lanka Thawheed Jama’ath (SLTJ) of which he was the former general secretary and is neither a member of the NTJ nor a suicide bomber. Razik challenged Rajitha to provide evidence for the allegations.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Political
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe later apologised for failing to stop the attacks, issuing a statement on Twitter saying "We take collective responsibility and apologise to our fellow citizens for our failure to protect victims of these tragic events. We pledge to rebuild our churches, revive our economy, and take all measures to prevent terrorism, with the support of the international community."


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Political
President Maithripala Sirisena attempted to connect International drug syndicates to the bombings to justify his campaign to implement the death penalty to drug dealers, but Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe disputed the president's claims.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Political, 2019 Sri Lankan Presidential Election
In November 2019, Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected President who campaigned on stronger security measures to prevent a re-occurrence of the Easter bombings.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Political, Resignations
On 23 April, President Sirisena announced plans to change the heads of the defence forces. On 25 April, Hemasiri Fernando, Secretary of the Ministry of Defence tendered his resignation to the President, after it was announced that President Sirisena had requested the Defence Secretary and the Inspector General of Police resign. Retired General Shantha Kottegoda was appointed to succeed Fernando as Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, while retired IGP N. K. Illangakoon was appointed adviser to the Ministry of Defence.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Political, Resignations
Although President Sirisena announced on 25 April that the Inspector General of Police, Pujith Jayasundara would be resigning, Jayasundara made no public comment. On 29 April, the IGP was sent on compulsory leave after no response was received to President Sirisena's request for his resignation. The President lacks jurisdiction to dismiss the IGP, as he was appointed by a decision by the Constitutional Council and can only be removed by a motion passed in Parliament pursuant to the Public Officers (Procedure) Act, which requires the precise circumstances of the charges and/or allegations against him to be detailed and presented.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Political, Resignations
The Police Commission still maintains jurisdiction to overturn the decision to send the IGP on compulsory leave. The same day, Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police C. D. Wickramaratne was appointed as the Acting Inspector General of Police and General Shantha Kottegoda was appointed Defence Secretary. On 13 May, the Constitutional Council endorsed the appointment of C. D. Wickramaratne as Acting IGP. This is considered final and conclusive for all purposes, as neither the National Police Commission or the Supreme Court have jurisdictional oversight to reverse this decision.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Political, Resignations
Pujith Jayasundara has since challenged his compulsory leave with a petition to the Supreme Court. On 2 July, the former police chief along with the former defence official were arrested according to the order by the President and the current Attorney General Dappula de Livera over the alleged security lapses which lead to the attacks. They were arrested while being hospitalised and are charged for the crimes against humanity.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Political, Resignations
Following calls for the resignation of Minister of Industry and Commerce, Rishad Bathiudeen and Provençal Governors Azath Salley and M. L. A. M. Hizbullah; including a fast carried-out by Member of Parliament, Venerable Athuraliye Rathana Thero, Governor of Western Province Azath Salley and Governor of Eastern Province M. L. A. M. Hizbullah tendered their resignations to President Sirisena on 3 June, who had appointed both in January 2019.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Political, Resignations
This was followed the same day by an announcement by Rauff Hakeem, Leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress stating that all Muslim Ministers will resign from their portfolios "to facilitate investigations to be conducted in a free and fair manner". This included cabinet ministers Kabir Hashim, Rauff Hakeem, M.H.A. Haleem and Rishad Bathiudeen; state ministers Faizal Cassim, H. M. M. Harees, Ameer Ali Shihabdeen and Seyed Ali Zahir Moulana and Deputy Minister Abdullah Mahrooff. On 4 June, former Mayor of Colombo, A. J. M. Muzammil was appointed Governor of Western Province by President Sirisena succeeding Salley.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Political, Resignations
Sisira Mendis, Chief of National Intelligence (CNI) resigned citing health reasons, on 8 June 2019, days after giving testimony that the Parliamentary Select Committee to inquire into the Easter bombings which had outraged President Sirisena. He was succeeded by Major General Jeewaka Ruwan Kulatunga as CNI.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Economic
Tourism in Sri Lanka is the country's third largest foreign exchange earner and employs around 135,000 to 150,000 in the hotel industry. The industry had expected 3 million tourist arrivals and revenue of $5 billion in 2019. Due to the attack on tourists, The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka estimated a loss of $1.5 billion in tourism earnings for the year.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Economic
The government's plan to grant visa-on-arrival to visitors from 39 countries has been suspended due to the current security situation.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Economic
In early June, in a leaked confidential assessment of the economic damage by the Easter Sunday attacks, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka claimed that the loss of government revenue from indirect tax such as VAT was approximately Rupees 26 billion for the year. It cited a major impact on the country's trade deficit of the balance of payments, which would be affected badly due to the negative impact on tourism. It stated further that many foreign direct investments have been postponed.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Economic
Despite the downfall in number of foreign tourist arrivals following the Easter Sunday attacks, Lonely Planet continued to hail the island as a "top destination for 2019". The Sri Lankan hotel sector was engaged in rebuilding process and strived to recover afterwards.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Social
Government Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka called for the Batticaloa Campus and Islamic study centres in Beruwala, Maharagama, Trincomalee and Addalachchenai to be brought under the control and supervision of the University Grants Commission and the Education Ministry.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Social
On 27 April 2019, Sri Lanka Cricket called off an under-19 tour of the country by the Pakistan cricket team, scheduled to take place in May, saying "we didn't want to take any chances".


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Social
In the wake of the attacks, thousands of Sri Lankans bought terrorism insurance.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Social
Islamic channel Peace TV, which is run by preacher and televangelist Zakir Naik, was officially banned in the country by the main satellite cable operators Dialog TV, PEO TV and Lanka Broadband Network following the attacks even before the governmental intervention.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Legislative
Following the attack, calls have been made to introduce legislation to prevent possible future occurrence of such attacks. The government called for the swift enactment of the proposed Counter Terrorism Act, replacing the existing Prevention of Terrorism Act.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Legislative, Regulation of madrasas
The Ministry for Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs has proposed the Madrasa Education Regulatory Act to establish a Board under the Ministry for "regulation, registration, supervision, control and development of education within Madrasas in Sri Lanka"


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Legislative, Sharia law
Minister of Home Affairs Vajira Abeywardena stated that legislation introduced between 2010 and 2015 has "given effect to aspects of Sharia law or Islamic law" with non-governmental organisations registering under these. He stated that these parliamentary acts will be reviewed.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Legislative, Public signage
The government has stated that the Ministry of Home Affairs will issue a circular calling for the removal of all signage displayed in the Arabic language. This follows a statement by the Prime Minister which stated that all street name boards in the island should only be in Sinhalese, Tamil and English.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Legislative, Minimum age of marriage
The Prime Minister has stated that the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act will be amended to include a minimum age of marriage of 18 years to the traditional Muslim law, which had been criticised for lacking a minimum age of marriage, resulting in underage marriages.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Impact, Sports, Association football
The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign 2nd leg clash between Sri Lanka and Macau was unable to take part as the Macanese squad refused to travel to Sri Lanka amidst the concern after the Easter bombings. FIFA subsequently forfeited the match and awarded a 3–0 win to Sri Lanka, thus qualified the team to the second round.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Reactions, Domestic responses
Leaders of the country condemned the attacks: President Maithripala Sirisena said "I have given instructions to take very stern action against the persons who are responsible for this conspiracy"; the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said "I strongly condemn the cowardly attacks on our people today"; Opposition Leader and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa called the attacks "absolutely barbaric" and said that the nation will stand united as one against "acts of terrorism"; and Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera described the attacks as a "well co-ordinated attempt to create murder, mayhem and anarchy".


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Reactions, Domestic responses
The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, said "It’s a very very sad day for all of us. I wish therefore to express my deepest sorrow and sympathy [...] I condemn to the utmost of my capacity this act that has caused so much death and suffering to the people." Following the attack, the Archbishop's House in Colombo cancelled all Catholic Easter services planned for the evening of Easter Sunday.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Reactions, Domestic responses
On 28 April 2019 a public litigation activist, Nagananda Kodituwakku, stated that the negligence leading to the attack is in violation of the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code and has filed a Fundamental Rights petition directing the Attorney General to institute criminal action against the country's senior political, civil and security officials, including President Maithripala Sirisena and former President and MP Mahinda Rajapakse, for their alleged negligence over the Easter Sunday bombings.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Reactions, International responses
Numerous world leaders expressed condolences and condemnation. President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani referred to the bombings as an act of genocide.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Reactions, International responses
After the bombings, numerous buildings around the world were illuminated in Sri Lanka's colours, some of which included the Flinders Street railway station in Melbourne, the Opera House in Sydney, the Victoria Bridge in Brisbane, the Finlandia Hall in Helsinki, the Northern Spire Bridge and Penshaw Monument in Sunderland, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the Emirates Palace, ADNOC Headquarters, Capital Gate and Marina Mall in Abu Dhabi, the City Hall in Tel Aviv, the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg, and the Sky Tower in Auckland. The Eiffel Tower in Paris went dark as a memorial for the victims of the bombings.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Reactions, International responses
The New York Stock Exchange paused for a moment of silence before the opening bell on the day after the attacks. Real Madrid C.F. also had a moment of silence before the La Liga match on the night of the attacks. Candlelight vigils were held and flags were also flown at half-mast around the world including in Pakistan, Canada, Indonesia, New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Reactions, Religious leaders
Representatives and leaders of the main world religions responded with prayers and support for the victims.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Reactions, Religious leaders
Pope Francis pledged his closeness and solidarity after the attacks during his Urbi et Orbi address in St. Peter's Square. The following day, he urged the international community to help Sri Lanka, and called on them to condemn terrorist acts.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Reactions, Religious leaders
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, a 57-member state international body, strongly condemned the terrorist acts, and called for international solidarity in the fight against terrorism.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Reactions, Religious leaders
Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Myanmar, the President of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conference (FABC) and Cardinal Oswald Gracias of India, the President of Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) also condemned the attacks.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Reactions, Religious leaders
The World Council of Churches, an ecumenical body representing several major Christian traditions, expressed sentiments of solidarity with the Christians of Sri Lanka.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Reactions, Religious leaders
Condolences for the those affected and condemnations of the attacks were variously offered by the leaders of Anglican, Latter-day Saint, Methodist, Orthodox, Evangelical, and Reformed churches, as well as Muslim and Jewish congregations.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Reactions, Religious leaders
All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama, a council of Muslim theologians, sent condolences. Several theologians met with Malcolm Ranjith, the Archbishop of Colombo, following the attacks. The National Shoora Council, composed of eighteen Muslim organisations, also expressed condolences.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Reactions, Religious leaders
World Sunni Movement, Bangladesh condemned and protested against the deadly terrorist attack.


2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, Reactions, Religious leaders
On 28 May 2019, a mosque belonging to the NTJ was intentionally destroyed by the Muslim civilians in the Kekirawa community, which included the chief of a neighbouring mosque. The structure was purportedly built using foreign funds.


2019 Sri Lanka electricity crisis
The 2019 Sri Lanka electricity crisis was a crisis which happened nearly a month from 18 March to 10 April 2019 faced by Sri Lanka caused by a severe drought that depleted water levels at hydroelectric plants. Sri Lanka experienced rolling blackouts for three to five hours per day except on Sundays in all parts of the island nation at different time schedules that started from 24 March 2019 to present. This is regarded as one of the worst blackouts confronted in Sri Lanka since 2016 and the longest ever blackout recorded in history of the country.


2019 Sri Lanka electricity crisis
However it was revealed that the main electricity providing institution Ceylon Electricity Board had restricted the power supply to almost all regions of the country without proper prior notice and implemented a time schedule unofficially from 24 March 2019. However the Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy revealed that it didn't grant and approve permission to CEB to impose power cuts.


2019 Sri Lanka electricity crisis
Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena ordered the authorities to take necessary action and remedies to solve the interrupted power supply issue. The Ceylon Electricity Board was widely criticised for its unauthorized action to limit power supply without any public notice and it was alleged that power crisis resulted due to the inabilities and inefficiencies of the CEB in implementing long term plans regarding the supply of electricity.


2019 Sri Lanka electricity crisis
The Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the minister of Power and Renewable Energy Ravi Karunanayake issued a notice that the temporal power cut crisis will be solved before Sinhalese New Year and Puthandu which falls on 13th and 14th of April 2019. According to the statements claimed by the Power and Energy minister earlier, the power cuts were removed as of 10 April 2019 and further assured that the electricity bills will not be increased and further charges won't be incurred from the public.


2019 Sri Lanka electricity crisis
The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka filed a court case against Ceylon Electricity Board at the Fort Magistrate's Court following the power crisis and the court issued a petition to the officials of CEB to be summoned before 9 April. However the Court ordered the CEB to be summoned before 16 April.


2019 Sri Lanka electricity crisis, Background
Sri Lanka is one of the nations which solely depend upon the electricity in the form of hydroelectricity which is produced using water without having suitable alternative means of provision of electricity during drought and other emergency issues. There were concerns from the pressure groups in Sri Lanka to conserve water and to use renewable energy sources such as solar energy and tidal waves to generate electricity.


2019 Sri Lanka electricity crisis, Background
During late March, the CEB decided to impose four-hour rolling power cut on a scheduled basis throughout Sri Lanka after the national grid capacity failed to meet the increased demand for power due to dry climate, and due to limited power generation. Though the situation isn't new to public, this was the first blackout situation recorded in Sri Lanka in a continuous manner exceeding over 20 days and also the first time CEB imposed a routine daily regular power cuts since 2016. The average annual peak demand of electricity in the country amounts to 2400 MW but during the power outage situation, the overall supply was just around 1950 MW.


2019 Sri Lanka electricity crisis, Effects
As of 24 March 2019, general public faced severe problems regarding the underprovision of power supply to all parts of the country including the main commercial hub Colombo, except for Galle and the capital city Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, where the parliament is located. Schools, hospitals, restaurants, businesses and the residents residing at their homes were severely affected due to the power cuts which were not properly disclosed by the CEB before implementation.


2019 Sri Lanka electricity crisis, Effects
The power cuts were practiced by Ceylon Electricity Board stating that the decline in water levels in most of the dams across the country have prompted them to do so. The experts also revealed that the current blackout issue will also cause negative impacts to already weakening Sri Lankan economy which faced a downfall in 2018 due to political coup which stormed during 26 October.


2019 Sri Lanka electricity crisis, Effects
The government officials including Ravi Karunanayake and CEB were highly backlashed over the unethical illegal actions to reduce power supply throughout the country. PUCSL threatened the CEB for a court case insisting that the power cuts were illegal.


2019 Sri Lanka electricity crisis, Effects
CEB was ordered to appear before the court on April 09 by the Colombo Fort Magistrate's Court after PUCSL (Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka) filed a legal action regarding the power crisis.


2019 Sri Lanka floods
The 2019 floods and landslides in Sri Lanka  were the floods which were caused from heavy torrential rainfalls during September 2019. As of 26 September 2019; the monsoon floods affected in about 13 districts, killing at least 2 persons, injuring 6 people and about 116, 000 people are affected. One casualty was reported in the Galle District and the other one was reported in Kolonnawa, where a teenager drowned in the flood water. About 282 houses were reported to have been damaged mainly in Galle and Matara while 22 houses out of 150 houses were completely destroyed in the two districts.


2019 Sri Lanka floods
The red alert was issued to areas which are surrounded near rivers such as Diyawanna Oya, Nilwala Ganga, Kalu Ganga and Gin Ganga. Several roads in Galle were inundated due to the overflow of Gin Ganga. Colombo, Negombo and Gampaha were also severely affected due to heavy floods.


2019 Sri Lanka floods, Background
Sri Lanka is reported to have been identified as the second most vulnerable nation in the world after Puerto Rico which is prone to climatic changes due to the effects of global warming.


2019 Sri Lanka floods, Background
The floodings are unusually a very rare situation in the month of September in Sri Lanka and this has been caused as a result of the effect of Global climate change on Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka generally witnesses two main monsoon types namely the Southwest monsoon (May-September) and Northeast monsoon (December-February) along with two interior monsoon periods in March-April and October-November.


2019 Sri Lanka floods, Floods
The Disaster Management Centre revealed that Districts such as Galle and Matara were the worst affected areas. More than 48, 000 people have been affected and 3500 people were displaced to safe areas. DMC reported that 69 houses were damaged in Galle and 89 houses were damaged in Matara District. Areas in the Galle District such as Imaduwa, Akmeemana, Ambalangoda, Yakkalamulla, Baddegama, Welvita, Divithura, Boppe Padala, Gonapinuwela and Kadawath Sathara were severely affected due to floods. Kirinda, Dickwella, Thihagoda, Welpitiya, Divinuwara, Hakmana, Athuraliya, Akuressa, Kamburupitiya, Kotupola, Malimbada and Pitabeddara in the Matara District were also adversely affected due to heavy rainfall.


2019 Sri Lanka floods, Aftermath
The schools located in Galle and Matara Districts were closed for two days from 24–25 September following the bad weather situation. The management of the Bandaranayake International Airport informed the passengers to arrive at the airport at least three hours prior to the departure. The airport road in Katunayake was also covered with flood waters


2019 Sri Lanka floods, Aftermath
The Ministry of Education proposed the GCE A/L practical examinations which are to be conducted in those affected areas to be postponed and rescheduled.


2019 Sri Lankan local elections
In February 2019 the 2018 Sri Lankan local elections were held in Sri Lanka due to a prior delay. However, due to an injunction issued by the Supreme Court, the election was not held in Elpitiya.


2019 Sri Lankan local elections, Details
On 30 January 2018 the Supreme Court issued an injunction preventing election in Elpitiya DC following a petition by the Democratic United National Front against the rejection of their nomination list.


2019 Sri Lankan national honours
In August 2019 President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena awarded national honours to 70 individuals for distinguished services. The awards ceremony was held on 19 August 2019 at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall in Colombo.


2019 Sri Lankan presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Sri Lanka on 16 November 2019. The incumbent President Maithripala Sirisena's term of office would have ended on 9 January 2020. This was the first Presidential election in Sri Lanka where no sitting president, prime minister or opposition leader was contesting for president. Gotabaya Rajapaksa won this election to Sajith Premadasa.


2019 Sri Lankan presidential election
The results were released on 17 November 2019 and Rajapaksa managed to cross the majority mark to win the election.


2019 Sri Lankan presidential election, Prior to the election, Poll prediction
Both main candidates have had their own surveys carried out with the results claiming victory for each of them. Earlier circulated polls prediction which was claimed done by National Intelligence Service was proved false and manipulated.


2019 Sri Lankan presidential election, Nominations, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna
After the massive victory they have got in Local Election, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna is looking to run for the presidential election. Chamal, Basil and Gotabaya being mentioned as credible prospects. Calls for Gotabaya Rajapaksa to run have been made though  he is ineligible due to his possession of foreign citizenship. Basil Rajapaksa also holds foreign citizenship and is therefore ineligible. On 12 January he announced he was ready to run in the elections if he had the support for it. Though his announcement stunned senior SLPP leaders who did not know beforehand.


2019 Sri Lankan presidential election, Nominations, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna
Chamal Rajapaksa has also signalled his potential candidacy saying that he would "willingly consider it if the party nominates him as the next Presidential Candidate", soon after the announcement of his brother. Chamal Rajapaksa has not decided whether to contest from the SLFP or the SLPP but prefers a candidate that has the support of both. Gotabaya Rajapaksa was the leading figure of the war victory of Sri Lanka and development process of Colombo metro region and northern province.


2019 Sri Lankan presidential election, Nominations, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna
In March Chamal denied that neither him nor Basil would contest but avoided commenting about Gotabaya while the SLPP announced that they favour Gotabaya unless someone better is found.


2019 Sri Lankan presidential election, Nominations, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna
Gotabaya already had a well organized campaign promoting him and according to D. B. S Jeyraj the Rajapaksa family has chosen to support Gotabaya as the candidate and is renouncing his US citizenship.


2019 Sri Lankan presidential election, Nominations, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, on 11th of  6 days after the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, announced his candidacy for president. On 11 August Mahinda Rajapaksa and his Sri Lanka Podujana Party officially announces his brother Gotabaya to be its presidential candidate, while Mahinda runs as his Prime Ministerial candidate.


2019 Sri Lankan presidential election, Nominations, United National Party (UNP)
United National Party did not field a presidential candidate in either the 2010 and 2015 elections and supported a common candidate. Even though they won the 2015 election and elected Maithripala Sirisena from their support, UNP expenditure for the election period is 500lkr million relations between the president and the UNP was shaky from the beginning. Power struggle between the president and UNP prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe led to the 2018 Sri Lankan constitutional crisis. In the aftermath of the events, most of the UNP members publicly expressed their regret supporting a common candidate in 2015 and promised to field their own presidential candidate in 2019 elections.


2019 Sri Lankan presidential election, Nominations, United National Party (UNP)
Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was the obvious choice for the candidacy and he reportedly expressed his intentions to run for the presidency in a meeting with other senior members. Meanwhile, several rebel MPs including Mangala Samaraweera, Harin Fernando, Ajith Perera, Harsha de Silva, Sujeewa Senasinghe wanted deputy leader Sajith Premadasa as the candidate and organized a rally in badulla where Sajith himself openly expressed his intentions to be the UNP candidate


2019 Sri Lankan presidential election, Nominations, United National Party (UNP)
With the growing support for the deputy leader Sajith Premadasa and party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe refusing to make a move, Speaker of the parliament Karu Jayasuriya released a statement signalling his intention to run for presidency to end the confusion and avoid a rift within the party However Sajith faction showed that they has the popular support among party members and followers by organizing successful rallies in Matara Kurunegala and Matugama.


2019 Sri Lankan presidential election, Nominations, United National Party (UNP)
On 26 September 2019, Working committee of United National Party unanimously decided Sajith Premadasa as the UNP presidential candidate. Announcing the official statement, general Secretary of the UNP Akila Viraj Kariyawasam told that Ranil Wickremesinghe will continue to function as the Prime Minister and the Leader of the UNP.


2019 Sri Lankan presidential election, Nominations, Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP)
President and leader of the SLFP Maithripala Sirisena is eligible to run for a second term. Although he has previously stated, after being sworn in in 2015, that he would only serve the single term, he has since expressed his desire to stay on for a second term. However, with many party seniors choose to support newly formed Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna led by former SLFP leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, SLFP got weakened and suffered a heavy loss in 2018 Sri Lankan local elections, thus losing the credibility it had as the main opposition force to the UNP.


2019 Sri Lankan presidential election, Nominations, Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP)
SLFP pledge to support SLPP candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa on 9 October.


2019 Sri Lankan presidential election, Nominations, Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Individuals who have publicly expressed interest
Individuals in this section have expressed an interest in running for president, or have strong support from others, within the last six months.


2019 Sri Lankan presidential election, Nominations, National People's Power (NPP)
The National People's Power Movement announced Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna leader Anura Kumara Dissanayaka as the candidate in a massive rally on 18 August in the Galle Face.


2019 Sri Lankan presidential election, Candidates
Record 35 candidates have submitted their nominations on 7 October to the election commission


2019 Sri Lankan presidential election, Candidates
Secretary for the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development (2005-2015)


2019 Sri Lankan presidential election, Aftermath, Resignations
Minister Mangala Samaraweera informed President Maithripala Sirisena via a letter, that he will step down as Minister of Finance with immediate effect. The letter addressed to the President by Minister Samaraweera stated his opinion that the 2019 election was the most peaceful and fair election held in the recent past.


2019 Sri Lankan presidential election, Aftermath, Resignations
In a tweet, Minister Harin Fernando said, respecting the people's mandate, he will step down as Minister of Sports, Telecommunications and Foreign Employment. He added, he will also be resigning from his positions at the United National Party. He also thanked everyone who supported him during his tenure and hoped that the good work done will be continued.


2019 Sri Lankan presidential election, Aftermath, Resignations
Non -Cabinet Minister Ajith P. Perera via twitter said, while respecting the mandate of the people of Sri Lanka, he has decided to resign from his position as the Minister of Digital Infrastructure and IT with immediate effect. Tagging Sajith Premadasa he added, this was a well-fought battle and the country needs Sajith Premadasa's leadership at this critical time.


2019 Sri Lankan presidential election, Aftermath, Resignations
State Minister Ruwan Wijewardene via Twitter congratulated Gotabaya Rajapakse for his victory in the election and said he will step down as State Minister of Defence. He added ”I hope we will be able to build a nation free of division that unites all communities to take this country forward”.


2019 Sri Lankan presidential election, Aftermath, Resignations
Minister Kabir Hashim decided after the results were announced to resign as the Chairman of the United National Party and as the Minister of Highways, Road Development and Petroleum Resources Development.


2019 Sri Lankan presidential election, Aftermath, Resignations
Issuing a statement, Minister Malik Samarawickrama said he will step down as Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade.


2019 Sri Lankan presidential election, Aftermath, Resignations
Minister of Megapolis and Western Development, Patali Champika Ranawaka, resigned from his ministerial portfolio. In a letter to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, he stated that he took this decision with respect to the people's mandate.


2019 St Albans City and District Council election
The 2019 St Albans City and District Council election took place on 2 May 2019 to elect members of St Albans City and District Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections. At the elections, the Conservatives lost control of the council


2019 St Albans City and District Council election, Aftermath
The Conservatives lost the majority control of the council that they had held for four years, since 2015. Casualties of the election included the incumbent Conservative council leader, Alec Campbell, who lost his seat in a landslide.


2019 St Albans City and District Council election, Aftermath
At the full council meeting on May 22, the Liberal Democrats formed a minority administration, which was voted into power by a margin of 27-22, with eight Labour and Independent councillors abstaining. Alongside the Liberal Democrat councillors, the one Green councillor voted in favour of the Lib Dem administration.


2019 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election
The 2019 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 2 May 2019 to elect members of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections. With one third of the seats on the council up for election Labour lost control of four seats although Labour retained overall control of the council. The losses were Bold and Haydock to the Green Party, Newton-Le-Willows to the Liberal Democrats and Rainhill to an Independent candidate.


2019 St Kilda Football Club season
The 2019 St Kilda Football Club season is the St Kilda Football Club's 121st season in the AFL.


2019 St Patrick's Athletic F.C. season
The 2019 season was St. Patrick's Athletic F.C. 's 90th year in existence and was the Supersaint's 68th consecutive season in the top-flight of Irish football. It was the first season Harry Kenny took charge of the club, following Liam Buckley's spell in charge for the previous seven seasons. The fixtures were announced on 19 December 2018, with the Saints facing Cork City at home on the opening day of the season for the second year in a row, with the Inchicore side set to play champions Dundalk away from home on the final night of the season.


2019 St Patrick's Athletic F.C. season
Harry Kenny left his post on the 24th August following a 3–1 loss away to bottom of the table UCD in the FAI Cup. He was replaced by Stephen O'Donnell on the 31st August, his first managerial role. Pats finished 5th in the league and won the Leinster Senior Cup, playing the semi final and final with their underage sides after the league season had ended for the senior team.


2019 St Patrick's Athletic F.C. season, Squad, Squad statistics, Appearances, goals and cards
Number in brackets represents (appearances of which were substituted ON). Last updated – 17 November 2019


2019 St Patrick's Athletic F.C. season, Squad, Squad statistics, Captains
Last updated: 17 November 2019Source: Competitive match reports. Competitive matches onlyMatches started as captain onlyCountry: FIFA nationality; No. : Squad number; P: Position; Name: Player name; No. Games: Number of games started as captain.


2019 St Patrick's Athletic F.C. season, Club, Kit
Supplier: UmbroSponsor(s): MIG Insurance Brokers (Front of Jersey)Bill Griffin Motors (Back of Jersey)Greenisle Hotel (Sleeves of Jersey)


2019 St Patrick's Athletic F.C. season, Club, Kit
The club released a new Away kit for the season, with the Home and Third kits being retained from the 2018 season.


2019 St Patrick's Athletic F.C. season, Club, Kit
Key:LOI=League of Ireland Premier DivisionFAI=FAI CupEAC=EA Sports CupUEL=UEFA Europa LeagueLSC=Leinster Senior CupFRN=Friendly


2019 St. George Illawarra Dragons season
The 2019 St. George Illawarra Dragons season was the 21st in the joint venture club's history. The Dragons' men's team competed in the NRL's 2019 Telstra Premiership season while the women completed their second year in the NRLW's 2019 Holden Women's Premiership season.


2019 St. George Illawarra Dragons season, Representative Honours
The following players have played a representative match in 2019.


2019 St. Louis Cardinals season
The 2019 St. Louis Cardinals season was the 138th for the St. Louis Cardinals of the Major League Baseball (MLB), a franchise in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the 128th season for the Cardinals in the National League (NL), and their 14th at Busch Stadium III. On September 22, 2019, the Cardinals defeated the Chicago Cubs 3-2 to clinch their first playoff berth since 2015. On September 29, the Cardinals clinched the National League Central for the first time since 2015, and defeated the Atlanta Braves in the Division Series on October 9. They went on to play the Washington Nationals in the NLCS, but were swept in four games.


2019 St. Louis Cardinals season, Season summary
On Opening Day, versus the Milwaukee Brewers, catcher Yadier Molina extended his team-record for Opening Day starts with 15. The following game, newly-acquired first baseman Paul Goldschmidt homered three times in a 9−5 win over the Brewers, making him the fastest player to hit a three-home run game with a new team. He also drove in five runs.


2019 St. Louis Cardinals season, Game log, Regular season
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = PostponementBold = Cardinals player


2019 St. Louis Cardinals season, Minor league system and first-year player draft, Major League Baseball draft
The 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on Monday, June 3, 2019, and ended June 5. The draft will assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams.